Russia-Ukraine Crisis: Almost 300 people buried in 'mass grave' in Bucha outside Kyiv

The most ambitious effort yet to evacuate civilians from Ukraine’s devastated port of Mariupol, besieged by Russian forces for weeks, was upended by disruptions Friday, with thousands of residents managing to flee but many more still stuck after the Red Cross judged the exodus too dangerous. A team from the Red Cross that had been en route to Mariupol on Friday had to turn back because it was not guaranteed conditions to ensure safe passage, the organization said in a statement. It said the team would try again Saturday.

Ukraine deputy PM says 4,217 people evacuated from war zones

A total of 4,217 people were evacuated on Saturday from areas in Ukraine on the front line of its war with Russia, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said on national television. - Reuters.

Almost 300 people buried in 'mass grave' in Bucha outside Kyiv: Mayor

Almost 300 people have been buried in a mass grave in Bucha, a commuter town outside Ukraine's capital Kyiv, its mayor told AFP Saturday after the Ukrainian army retook control of the key town from Russia.

"In Bucha, we have already buried 280 people in mass graves," mayor Anatoly Fedoruk told AFP by phone. He said the heavily destroyed town's streets are littered with corpses.

Sanctions could imperil International Space Station, says Roscosmos chief

The head of Russia's space program said Saturday that the future of the International Space Station hangs in the balance after the United States, the European Union, and Canadian space agencies missed a deadline to meet Russian demands for lifting sanctions on Russian enterprises and hardware.

Dmitry Rogozin, the head of Roscosmos, told reporters that the state agency is preparing a report on the prospects of international cooperation at the station, to be presented to federal authorities “after Roscosmos has completed its analysis.” - Reuters.

Thousands march in Switzerland against Ukraine war

Thousands of people braved a surprise spring snowstorm in the Swiss capital Bern on Saturday to demand an end to Russia's devastating war in Ukraine.

In a sea of blue and yellow of the Ukrainian flag, with a rainbow-coloured sprinkling of PEACE banners, around 10,000 demonstrators marched through the city, according to organisers.

"We are all Ukrainian civilians," read one banner, held by a woman bundled up in a winter coat and wool hat marching towards the Federal Palace, which houses the Swiss government and Parliament. - AFP.

Residents stand outside a damaged building in the eastern Ukraine city of Kharkiv on april 2, 2022, as Ukraine said Russian forces were making a "rapid retreat" from northern areas around Kyiv and Chernigiv. Credit: AFP Photo

At least 20 bodies seen in one street in town near Kyiv

The bodies of at least 20 men in civilian clothes were found lying in a single street Saturday after Ukrainian forces retook the town of Bucha near Kyiv from Russian troops, AFP journalists said.

One of the bodies of the men had his hands tied, and the corpses were strewn over several hundred metres of the residential road in the suburban town northwest of the capital, the journalists said.

The cause of death was not immediately clear. - AFP.

Ukraine's grain exports held up as railways struggle to cope - analyst

Ukraine's railways are struggling with a backlog of grain wagons on the country's western border as traders look for alternative export routes after Russia's invasion blocked off the main Black Sea ports, analyst APK-Inform said on Saturday.

Ukraine was the world's fourth-largest grain exporter in the 2020/21 season, according to International Grains Council data, with most of its commodities shipped out via the Black Sea.

But with war raging along much of the coast, traders are scrambling to transport more grain by rail. - Reuters.

Ukrainian soldiers walk past the wreckage of Russian armoured vehicles in Dmytrivka village, west of Kyiv, as Ukraine says Russian forces are making a "rapid retreat" from northern areas around Kyiv and the city of Chernigiv. Credit: AFP Photo

More than 170 detained in Ukraine protests across Russia

Russian police detained 176 people Saturday at protests against Moscow's military operation in Ukraine, an NGO said.

OVD-Info, which monitors arrests during protests, said police had detained at least 176 people during demonstrations in 14 cities in Russia.

An AFP journalist in Moscow witnessed more than 20 people detained by riot police under heavy snowfall in the capital's central park Zaryadye, a short distance from the Kremlin.

Police escorted away people sitting on park benches or just standing around without explaining the reasons for the detention, the reporter said.

Latvia president Levits, Zelenskky discuss military assistance of Latvia and other Western countries to Ukraine

Death toll rises to 35 from strike on government building in Ukraine's Mykolaiv, says Governor

At least 35 people have been confirmed killed as a result of Tuesday's rocket strike on the regional administration building in Ukraine's southern port city of Mykolaiv, Governor Vitaliy Kim said in an online post on Saturday.

Rescue workers have continued to dismantle the rubble and search for victims after the strike blasted a hole through the side of the building in central Mykolaiv. - Reuters.

Ukraine faces big battles in eastern and southern regions, says senior official

Heavy battles are coming up in Ukraine's eastern and southern regions and for the besieged city of Mariupol in particular, Ukrainian presidential adviser Oleksiy Arestovych said on Saturday.

Speaking on national television, Arestovych said Ukrainian troops around Kyiv had retaken more than 30 towns or villages in the region and were holding the front line against Russian forces in the east.

"Let us have no illusions - there are still heavy battles ahead for the south, for Mariupol, for the east of Ukraine," he said. - Reuters.

Mines in wake of Russian retreat keep Kyiv unsafe: Zelenskyy

Retreating Russian troops have been creating a “catastrophic" situation for civilians by leaving mines around homes, abandoned equipment and “even the bodies of those killed", as they pull back from Ukraine's capital region, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned on Saturday.

Ukraine and its Western allies reported mounting evidence of Russia withdrawing its forces from around Kyiv and building up troop strength in eastern region of the war-torn country.

Ukrainian fighters reclaimed several areas near the capital after forcing the Russians out or moving in after them, officials said. - AP.

Kyrgyz police arrest activists at rally against Putin

Police in Kyrgyzstan detained around 20 activists who defied court bans on rallies related to Russia's invasion of Ukraine by protesting against Russian leader Vladimir Putin, an AFP correspondent saw Saturday.

The arrests in the capital Bishkek come as the gruelling conflict fuels pro- and anti-Moscow sentiment in ex-Soviet Central Asia, a five-country region tightly-tied to Russia.

Impoverished Kyrgyzstan's Kremlin-loyal president Sadyr Japarov had on Friday pleaded with protesters to limit their rally to a park in the city rather than march to the Russian embassy, as they had announced on social media.

Japarov said that embassies are "the inviolable property of foreign countries". - AFP.

Turkey offers to evacuate civilians from Mariupol

Turkey has offered to help evacuate civilians from the besieged Ukrainian port city of Mariupol by ship.

The Turkish defence minister said Saturday that “we can provide ship support for the evacuation of civilians and injured Turkish and other countries' citizens in Mariupol from the sea”.

State-run Anadolu Agency reported that Hulusi Akar said Turkey was coordinating possible evacuations with the authorities of the Russian Federation and Ukraine.

Mariupol, on the Sea of Azov, has seen some of the worst suffering of the war. The International Committee for the Red Cross is attempting to remove some of the 100,000 people are believed to remain in the city.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Friday that some 30 Turkish nationals were still in the city. - AP.

Ukraine's forex reserves at pre-war levels: Official

Ukraine's gold and foreign currency reserves stand at $29 billion, the same level as before Russia's invasion thanks to external financial support, the president's economic adviser Oleh Ustenko said on national television on Saturday.

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People attend the funeral ceremony of Senior Lieutenant Dmytro Oliinyk, 40, and Junior Sergeant Dmytro Pokhylenko, 39, who were killed in battle amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at the Lychakiv cemetery, in Lviv. Credit: Reuters photo

Russia, Kazakhstan urge deal for neutral, nuclear-free Ukraine

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kazakh leader Kassym-Jomart Tokayev agreed during a phone call on Saturday that it was vital for an agreement to be reached for a neutral, non-aligned and nuclear-free Ukraine, Kazakhstan's presidential office said.

In a readout of the call, it said that Putin had briefed Tokayev on the progress of negotiations between Ukraine and Russia. - Reuters.

Veteran war crimes prosecutor urges ICC to issue Putin arrest warrant

Former war crimes prosecutor Carla Del Ponte has called for the International Criminal Court to quickly issue an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin over actions in Ukraine.

"Putin is a war criminal," Del Ponte, who came to prominence investigating war crimes in Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia, said in an interview with the Le Temps daily, published Saturday.

The 75-year-old Swiss national said that international arrest warrants for Putin and other high-level Russian officials were needed to hold them responsible for the war crimes committed since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24. - AFP.

Missing Ukrainian journalist found dead near Kyiv

Ukrainian photographer and documentary maker Maks Levin has been found dead near the capital Kyiv after going missing more than two weeks ago, presidential aide Andriy Yermak said on Saturday.

"He went missing in the conflict area on March 13 in the Kyiv region. His body was found near the village of Guta Mezhygirska on April 1," he said on Telegram.

The Institute of Mass Information, a non-governmental organisation, cited preliminary findings from the prosecutor's office saying that the journalist was killed by "two shots" from the Russian military.

Levin, 40, a father of four, had been working with Ukrainian and international media.

During fighting between Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine in 2014, he managed to escape encirclement in a town where hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers were killed. - AFP.

Pope for first time implicitly criticises Putin over Ukraine

Pope Francis came the closest he has yet to implicitly criticising President Vladimir Putin over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, saying on Saturday a "potentate" was fomenting conflicts for nationalist interests.

Moscow says the action it launched on Feb. 24 is a "special military operation" designed not to occupy territory but to demilitarise and "denazify" its neighbour. Francis has already rejected that terminology, calling it a war. - Reuters.

Ukraine recaptures city of Brovary near Kyiv

Ukrainian officials say their forces have recaptured the city of Brovary, 20 kilometers (12 miles) east of the capital Kyiv.

Brovary's mayor said during a televised address on Friday evening that “Russian occupants have now left practically all of the Brovary district.”

He added that the Ukrainian forces would begin working to clear the region of remaining Russian soldiers there as well as "military hardware, and possibly from mines.”

The mayor said that many Brovary residents had already returned to the city, and that shops and businesses were reopening. - AP.

Russian forces in 'rapid retreat' from northern areas: Ukraine

Russian forces are making a "rapid retreat" from areas around the capital Kyiv and the city of Chernigiv in northernUkraine, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhaylo Podolyak said on Saturday.

"With the rapid retreat of the Russians from the Kyiv and Chernigiv regions... it is completely clear that Russia is prioritising a different tactic: falling back on the east and south," he said on social media. - AFP.

Pope says he is considering trip to Kyiv

Pope Francis said on Saturday that he was considering a trip to the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.

Asked by a reporter on the plane taking him from Rome to Malta if he was considering an invitation made by Ukrainian political and religious authorities, Francis answered: "Yes, it is on the table". He gave no further details.

Francis has been invited by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko, Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk of Ukraine's Byzantine-rite Catholic Church and Ukraine's ambassador to the Vatican, Andriy Yurash. - Reuters.

Russia declares top journalist and video blogger 'foreign agents'

Russiahas declared a prominent journalist, a video blogger and six other media figures "foreign agents", the latest in a series of such moves that critics say are designed to stifle dissent.

The expanded list, published by the Justice Ministry late on Friday, included Elizaveta Osetinskaya, former editor-in-chief of several Russian business newspapers that published disclosures about the commercial interests of people close to President Vladimir Putin.

Lavrov bats for actively developing Russia-India-China trilateral mechanism

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that he discussed with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar about actively developing the Russia-India-China trilateral mechanism in the interests of stabilising international relations and ensuring "equity in international affairs".

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Economic advisor to Ukraine says Ukraine's gold and forex reserves stand at $29 billion

Pending payments from Russia a worry for exporters

Indian exporters,in a quandary over pending payments from Russian importers, are seeking the intervention of the government and the top bank to resolve their issue.

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Ukraine expects good news over weekend regarding Mariupol evacuations

Ukraine expects good news over the weekend regarding evacuations of people from the besieged southeastern city of Mariupol, an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelesnskiy said on Saturday.

"Our delegation has reached an agreement in Istanbul (during Ukraine-Russiapeace talks) to provide evacuations," Oleksiy Arestovych told Ukraine's television.

Ukraine's economy could contract 40% in 2022, ministry says

Ukraine's economy shrank 16% year-on-year in the first quarter of this year and could contract 40% in 2022 as a result ofRussia's invasion, the economy ministry said in a statement on Saturday, citing preliminary estimates.

"Areas in which remote work is impossible have suffered the most," it said.

EU says it eyes further Russia sanctions that will not affect energy sector

The European Union is working on further sanctions onRussiabut any additional measures will not affect the energy sector, the EU's Economic Commissioner Paolo Gentiloni said in Cernobbio on Saturday.

The 27-nation bloc will be faced with a growth slowdown caused by the war in Ukraine but not a recession, he added, saying the 4% growth forecast was too optimistic and the EU would not reach it.

Some Russian troops still in Chernobyl exclusion zone, Ukraine says

Some Russian troops were still in the "exclusion zone" around the Chernobyl nuclear power station on Friday morning, a day after ending their occupation of the plant itself, a Ukrainian official said.

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Chinese diplomat suggests moves to end war

A Chinese diplomat has a suggestion for resolving the Ukraine conflict: US President Joe Biden should call Russian President Vladimir Putin and promise there will be no further NATO expansion, no deployment of strategic weapons in Ukraine and that the country will remain neutral.

“Then maybe the issue will get sorted,” director general of the Chinese Foreign Ministry's Department of European Affairs Wang Lutong told reporters in Beijing on Saturday.

US will help transfer Soviet-made tanks to Ukraine

The Biden administration will work with allies to transfer Soviet-made tanks to bolster Ukrainian defenses in the country’s eastern Donbas region, a US official said Friday.

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Russian missiles strike two central Ukraine cities

Russian missiles hit two cities in central Ukraine early on Saturday, damaging infrastructure and residential buildings, the head of the Poltava region said.

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Swiss Cold War bunkers back in vogue as Ukraine conflict rages

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has reawakened interest in Switzerland's concrete nuclear fallout shelters, built during the Cold War with enough space to shelter everyone in the country.

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Zelenskyy: Russians create 'complete disaster' with mines

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned his people early Saturday that retreating Russian forces were creating “a complete disaster" outside the capital as they leave mines across “the whole territory,” including around homes and corpses.

He issued the warning as the humanitarian crisis in the encircled city of Mariupol deepened, with Russian forces blocking evacuation operations for the second day in a row.

UNESCO: 53 Ukrainian historic, religious sites damaged since start of Russia’s war

The UN’s cultural agency used satellite images and witness reports to confirm damage inflicted upon 29 religious sites, 16 historic buildings, four museums, and four monuments.

(The Kyiv Independent)

Bus ferrying residents of Mariupol arrives in Zaporizhzhia

China says not deliberately circumventing sanctions on Russia

China is not deliberately circumventing sanctions onRussia, a senior Chinese diplomat said on Saturday, a day after China and the European Union held a virtual summit during which the EU told Beijing not to allow Moscow to work around Western sanctions imposed over its invasion of Ukraine.

Pentagon commits extra $300 mn in security aid to Ukraine

The US Defense Department announced Friday it is setting aside $300 million in "security assistance" for Ukraine to bolster the country's defense capabilities, adding to the $1.6 billion Washington has committed since Russia invaded in late February.

Ukraine says it carried out prisoner exchange with Russia

Ukraine and Russia carried out a prisoner exchange on Friday, leading to the release of 86 Ukrainian servicemen and women, the deputy head of Ukraine's presidential administration Kyrylo Tymoshenko said.

Red Cross postpones Mariupol evacuation due to 'impossible conditions'

The Red Cross said the team it sent to facilitate the evacuation of thousands of civilians from Mariupol on Friday had been forced to turn around after conditions made it "impossible to proceed".